Surprise
by StarLight9
Summary: King Elessar’s birthday is approaching, and someone has a secret plan to surprise him. However, the king has a plan of his own, and when a few assassins become involved, the plans’ failure may have a deadly outcome. Teitho First Place Winner.
1. Many Plans

Surprise

_**Surprise**_

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**Summary: **King Elessar's birthday is approaching, and someone has a secret plan to surprise him. However, the king has a plan of his own, and when a few assassins become involved, the plans' failure may have a deadly outcome.

**Disclaimer: **All worthy characters belong to the Master and His estate. I own only the assassins.They might not be very fun, but can come in handy if you want to get rid of someone ;-)

**Note: **This story was written for Teitho Challenge "Well-laid Plans". It won the first place.

**Note 2: **This is a two-chapter story. The second chapter is finished and will be posted very soon, as soon as I've given people the chance to read the first.

**Beta:** Kalisona

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_**Chapter 1: Many Plans**_

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"_Ada_, look!" Eldarion pointed excitedly at the arrow sticking out of the trunk of a tall birch. The young prince's eyes were twinkling with excitement, and the boy was fighting hard the urge to start jumping up and down. "I hit it!"

Aragorn could not stop the wide smile that spread across his face. He was determined not to show his son how proud he was, so that the boy would not become overconfident. But he _was_ proud, and it was impossible to hide it. In the past few days Eldarion had shown admirable progress in his archery lessons, and it was obvious that his natural talent, together with his hard work and great desire to improve, were giving wonderful results.

"I can't wait to show Legolas how good I am!" The boy said enthusiastically.

"You will show him soon enough," the King said. "He is coming for my birthday celebration. Perhaps he will be here in a few days." Oh, he could not wait to see Eldarion showing Legolas what he had learned! The elf had claimed that Aragorn would be unable to make his son a good archer without his help. And it was time to prove him wrong. Of course, the King was happy to have his friend give Eldarion a few tips, as he wanted the boy to learn as much as possible, but still he was pleased to know that he had proven to be a good tutor.

"_Ada_, do you think I could challenge him to an archery contest?" The child asked.

Aragorn suppressed a chuckle. "This will be a bad idea, my son, unless you want to lose. But you may challenge him to a sword fight."

Eldarion's face brightened. "You think that I am better than him with the sword!"

The man was considered his answer for a second. "Probably not. But soon you might be. Go bring us two swords!"

The child was beaming with excitement as he ran to fetch the swords. Aragorn looked after him with a smile. It was so good to spend time with Eldarion, but he knew that this would not last long. His birthday preparations had made everyone been busy, and no one was giving him any peace. Why did people need to ask him everything? How many tables should there be, how many guests on each table, what kind of meals, what songs should the bards sing, and many other details he had never thought about before. In the meantime, he was given no break from his normal duties, and his life had just become busier than usual. Arwen had tried to help as much as possible with the preparations for the celebration, but still he was needed most of the time. And why did they need to celebrate anyway? What was there to celebrate in getting older?

He was brought out of his musings as Eldarion returned, carrying two blunted, training swords. One of them was smaller and lighter. "I like fencing with you, _ada_," he admitted. "You never let me win on purpose. When I play games with _nana_, any game, she always lets me win. She can't understand that I am no baby and I can handle defeat."

"Of course _you_ can," Aragorn replied with a conspiratorial smile and raised his sword. "But now we need to make sure that soon we will see how _Legolas_ handles defeat. Defeat by a twelve-year-old, too."

Eldarion laughed and raised his sword to block his father's blow. He took a step back and prepared to attack, when he heard someone call.

"My Lord! King Elessar!"

Aragorn looked at the man and suppressed a groan. He could not handle any more birthday questions. The messenger's next words, however, were a pleasant surprise.

"My King, Lord Faramir and Lady Éowyn have arrived!"

"They are here?" The King smiled, pleased by another welcome distraction. "Eldarion, we will continue your lessons as soon as we greet them," he said, and followed the messenger.

The child nodded happily. He wanted to meet the guests too. They walked towards the gates, where the Steward had arrived with a small escort. Faramir and his wife stepped forward and bowed to their king.

"We have come to celebrate your birthday, my Lord," Faramir said.

"I am glad to see you, my friend," Aragorn said. "I wish you could visit us more often, and not only on the sad occasions."

"Sad occasions?" Éowyn asked with a smile. "Is a birthday a sad occasion, my Lord?"

"Perhaps not at your age, my Lady," the kind replied.

"Do not forget that it is not how many years you have lived," she said, "but how you feel at heart that determines your true age."

"And how you look," Faramir added. "And you certainly do not look your age, my Lord."

Aragorn laughed. "I am most glad to hear that." His keen eyes moved through the escort, scanning every face, trying to spot someone else who certainly did not look his age. "Tell me," he said, "when is Legolas coming?"

Faramir briefly looked away before answering. "He will not be able to come for your birthday," he finally said. "Duty keeps him in Ithilien. He apologized and hopes that you have a good celebration."

"He is not coming?" The king asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. "What happened? Are things going ill in Ithilien?"

"No, worry not, my Lord," Faramir assured him. "All is well, but still a lot of work is needed to restore the forest to its previous beauty. And Legolas has taken this duty to heart."

-:-

"I know that more work is needed to restore the forest," Aragorn said bitterly. "Faramir told me that already. But this is no urgent work. It can be done anytime. Why did he choose to stay now, on my birthday?"

"I thought you did not believe your birthday to be such an important occasion," Arwen reminded him softly. And it was true. Raised by Elves, Estel had grown accustomed to celebrating his begetting day, and the human tradition to celebrate the actual day of his birth still felt foreign to him no matter how many years he had done it already. His servants, of course, would have none of that and insisted that the King of Gondor's birthday should be celebrated properly.

He sighed. "That is not the point. He knows how much I want to see him. I thought he wanted to see me as well. And I haven't seen him in seven months. Seven months!"

"You have spent years without seeing him," Arwen pointed out. "Or me. Or any elf. What is different now?"

"It is different," Aragorn said. "In the past I have often been forced to wander and stay away from the ones close to me. But now we live both live in Gondor, and we live in peace. He is not so far away, and yet I have not seen him in seven months! It makes no sense. In his last letter he told me that he would be coming for my birthday."

"Perhaps things in Ithilien are busy right now," she suggested.

"But Faramir is able to come!" He countered immediately. "If Faramir can come, Legolas can come as well."

"Then maybe at least one of them needs to stay," Arwen said. "And if that is the case, Legolas would be the logical choice. The Steward is expected to be present at the King's birthday."

"You are right," he said with a sigh. "As usual. But I cannot stop feeling that Faramir was hiding something when I asked him about Legolas. Could it be… could it be that he does not _want_ to come? Could he be angry with me?"

"Why would he be?" She asked.

"I do not know," he admitted. "But I see no reason for his refusal to come. It matters not. I will know soon enough," he said and stood up. "I am going to Ithilien. He should not mind the visit. And I will be back on time for my birthday."

Had he imagined it, or had Arwen suddenly paled at his words?

"You cannot go!" She sounded almost pleading. "You cannot leave me alone to handle all birthday preparations and meet all guests!" Her voice softened and she held his hand and kissed it. "I know that you miss him. But you can visit him soon enough. You could travel to Ithilien after your birthday. Faramir will be here, so he can take care of Minas Tirith in your absence. Be patient, _meleth nîn_."

He nodded. "And you are right once again. Once this bloody birthday is over, I will be free. I could visit him then."

Had he imagined it, or had Arwen breathed a sigh of relief?

-:-

"The king will stand over there." A long, skinny finger pointed forward. "And the prince will be over there."

"How do you know this?" A deep voice asked.

"I befriended some of the servants involved in the celebration," the first man said with a grin. "Naturally, none of them knew why I needed the information."

"Naturally," the second man nodded in approval. "Tell me, Pyasak, how many men do you have?"

"I have brought twenty men, my Lord," Pyasak replied, "but I will use only five to do the work. We need to remain invisible. Two of them will be standing at that window." He pointed up. "Another two will be standing over there, and another one there. On my signal, three of them will fire arrows at the King, and two at the Prince. At least one of each set of arrows should be deadly. But tell me, my Lord, are you sure you do not want us to do it before the birthday? We have had a few possible opportunities so far."

The Haradrim grunted impatiently. "I told you already! I want the King and the Prince dead at the same instant, and no mistakes! If we kill one of them first, the other one will be more closely guarded. But only during the birthday celebration will we have a sure and clear shot of both of them."

Pyasak nodded grimly. It would be done.

After the War of the Ring, King Elessar had signed a peace treaty with Harad. However, some tribal lords were not satisfied with it. And why would they be? Gondor had fields with rich soils, many stock and trees with juicy fruit, high mountains and fresh-water rivers. And what did they have? Sand. Every day in the desert was a fight for survival. There was no grass for their stock to graze, water was scarce, and the merciless sun would often kill the ones who did not know how to protect themselves.

Pyasak's heart ached as he thought about his starving children, hiding in the shade of the tents, hoping that they would make it alive until the next day. And he thought about all children of Gondor who always had a plate of food on the table before them, and a roof above their heads. Who were not forced to wander homeless in search for water. What had they done to deserve this?

There was only one solution to their problems. They had to conquer a large part of Gondor's land. Land that they could use for themselves.

But Gondor was strong. There was no way to defeat her. At least not by fair means.

And yet, if Gondor lost both her King and her Heir, the country would be send into chaos and panic. And then it could be easily attacked.

King Elessar and Prince Eldarion had to die.

There were no rules in times of war.

-:-

A soft knock made her raise herself on the bed and look around. The room was covered in darkness, save for the pale moonlight coming from the window. She looked at the man lying beside her and smiled when she saw that he was still sleeping. Arwen bent down and kissed his hair. "You will be surprised, _meleth nîn_," she whispered gently. "Just wait a few days. You will be surprised, I promise."

She stood up and silently walked out of the room. A quick glance back told her that her husband had not awakened, and she smiled. She closed the door soundlessly and turned down the corridor.

"Is he sleeping?" A soft voice whispered.

"Yes," she answered just as softly. "He did not wake at your knock."

"I am not surprised. Human hearing is horrible."

The two elves grinned at each other and quickly embraced.

"I am happy you came!" Arwen whispered. "When did you arrive?"

"A few minutes ago. I first went to the stables to leave Arod and her there and came to you."

The Queen's eyes glistened. "May I see her?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course," Legolas replied with a smile and the two elves walked towards the stables. Arwen was barefooted, but did not seem to be bothered by that.

"Who knows that you are here?" She asked.

"Only the guards who let me pass and the stables boy. And Faramir, of course. Have you told anyone?"

Arwen shook her head. "I planned to tell Eldarion, but then I thought that that would not be wise. He spends much time with Estel and might say something, even if he does not intend to."

"Good," Legolas said approvingly. "Then I will make sure no one sees me in the next few days."

She was thoughtful for a moment. Her friend would need a place to stay in Minas Tirith before the birthday and remain unnoticed at the same time. "I believe I can find a secluded room," she said.

He laughed. "Thank you, Arwen, but I would prefer your garden if you allow me. Some of the trees are big enough to provide a good bed."

She smiled. "That will be even easier. Just be careful. No one must see you. Besides," she added after a moment of thought, "Estel suspects something."

"Of course he does," Legolas replied affectionately. "He cannot be fooled so easily."

The two elves had reached the stables and walked inside. "This way," Legolas guided her inside and lit a torch. "I told the stables boy to keep Arod and her hidden."

They walked further and Arwen gasped in surprise. The mare was magnificent. She was tall and slender, but muscular at the same time, and her eyes spoke of pride and rebellious nature, but also wisdom. But what caught the Queen's attention was the horse's color. She was a perfect, glittering black, without a single spot of any other color. The mare was so dark a black that she appeared almost bluish, and the light of the torch was reflected off her glistening back. Arwen buried a slender hand in the shining mane. It rivaled her own hair.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Legolas asked with a knowing smile. "She was one of the wild horses. I captured her and trained her. It took a while until she was ready to suffer a rider. Her name is Lach."

Arwen nodded. Leaping flame. It was a fitting name.

Aragorn's love for horses was well known, and the elf had thought that this would be a wonderful present for his friend's birthday. There was a slight problem, however. He could not hide the horse and he knew that when Aragorn came to meet him, he would see her. But he wanted the mare to be a surprise, and did not want the man to see her before the celebration. He had sent Arwen a letter to ask her for advice.

The Queen's suggestion has been to arrive at night, while Estel was sleeping, so that he would not see the horse. But then the King would have wondered why he had arrived at night and would have probably suspected something.

And then Legolas had had an idea. What if they made a double surprise? Yes, he _would_ arrive at night, but he would not meet Aragorn on the next day. The King would not know that he was in Minas Tirith. And on his birthday he would be surprised to see him and the horse as well.

Arwen had immediately liked the plan. And now, looking at the beautiful mare, she knew that her husband would be indeed pleasantly surprised.

"We must decide on the best way for you to make an appearance," she said with a mischievous smile. "What way would shock him the most? You could ride in the hall in the middle of the celebration."

"Or I could just stand in the crowd," Legolas suggested. "I will not say a word and wait for him to notice me. Imagine what his surprise would be!"

"Or perhaps you could spring out of the cake," Arwen said with a grin.

The golden-haired elf laughed. "But that would destroy the cake, and Eldarion would be quite unhappy."

The two elves continued their merry debate, oblivious of the fact that if the Haradrim's plan worked, they would never get to the cake.

-:-

"This is not fair!" Eldarion stated and angrily fired an arrow. "I am so much better at this and he will not see it!"

Aragorn sighed. "I know, _ion nîn_, I am sorry. You will show him one day."

"When, _ada_?" The child asked in frustration. "In a week? In a month? When I am thirteen?"

The king had to suppress a chuckle. Eldarion had said 'When I am thirteen?' in such a voice as if this would be ages after today and he would be so old and experienced by then that no one would be impressed by his archery skills. "Soon enough," he replied.

But the boy was not pacified. He had gone to collect his arrows from the targets, and when he returned he gazed steadily at his father. "When?"

Aragorn studied his son for a second. His brow furrowed, but suddenly his face broke into a smile as if he had just made a decision. "Tonight if we ride hard," he replied.

Eldarion gasped and stared at his father in shock. "_Ada_, you mean –"

"I mean that we are going to Ithilien," the king announced. "I wish to talk to Legolas, and you will show him your skills. We will stay for not more than a day and come back. We will be back on time for my blasted birthday."

The child still did not look convinced although he wanted to believe his father. "_Nana_ will not be happy," he said softly.

Aragorn smiled. "She does not need to know. I will leave her a note so that she will not worry, but by the time she had finds it, we will be far away."

"So we are going to sneak out!" Eldarion cried excitedly. He was beginning to like his father's plan. "But then we should go with no escort. _Nana_ will kill us."

"We are in no danger," Aragorn said. "Not if we are disguised. It might be dangerous for the King and Prince of Gondor to travel alone, but we will look like mere wanderers. Come!" He led his excited child inside and down the stairs. Soon they were in front of a wooden door Eldarion had never seen before. Aragorn took out a key and quickly unlocked it.

The door opened with a soft crack and the boy peeked inside. He gasped. The room was filled with many old books, some paintings, yellowish scrolls, and various weapons, some of which looked rusty and unusable. One of them certainly was a child's training sword.

"_Ada_, what is this room?" He asked.

Aragorn was staring at a point to Eldarion's right. "Here I keep some things I do not wish to forget," he replied cryptically.

The boy followed his father's gaze until his eyes focused on something hanging by one of the bookshelves. "_Ada_, your ranger's cloak!" He cried excitedly.

Aragorn laughed and put it on. "It does not look very kingly, does it?" He asked. It certainly did not. It was completely covered by sewn cuts and patches, and old stains of dirt and blood that had not washed away were clearly visible.

"This is a great disguise!" Eldarion cried happily. "But there is a problem. We have only one cloak."

"No," Aragorn said with a mysterious smile. "We have one more."

He knelt before a large metal box and took a key out of his pocket. Then he unlocked it and slowly lifted the lid. Aragorn reached inside the box and took out another cloak which looked much like his own. He stood up and held it reverently.

"I didn't know you had a second cloak," the boy said.

"I don't," the man answered, and Eldarion was surprised to see the moisture in his father's eyes and the sad smile on his lips. "This cloak is not mine."

And Aragorn was right. The cloak was not his and never had been. It had been Halbarad's. He had never believed that he would ever give it to another human. And yet, Eldarion deserved it. And, most of all, Halbarad would have been happy to give his cloak to the boy. "It is yours now, my son."

Eldarion cried happily and put the overly large cloak on. "_Ada_, look at me!" He turned around, so that his father could look at him from all sides. "I am a real ranger now!"

Aragorn laughed. "Your mother will not be happy."

"Oh, she will surely kill us!" The child replied.

The king shook his head. "She will kill me, but not you. We could tell her that it was all your idea and you made me do it. She cannot be angry at you," he suggested.

The young prince grinned. "Very well, _ada_. I will be happy to cover up for you." Then he fingered his clean and neatly combed shoulder-length hair and frowned. "But I am afraid we do not look ranger-like enough."

"Yet," Aragorn said. "This can be easily corrected. Come!"

The King and Prince ran outside and continued until they reached a muddy puddle. Aragorn dipped his hands into the filthy water, wetted his hair and tousled it. Then he took a handful of dust and applied a small amount to his hair and face, which gave him quite a rugged appearance. Finally, he took out some mud from the pond and covered his travel boots. At last he sat on the ground, stretched his long legs before him, and took out a long pipe from a pocket in his cloak. He smiled casually at his son and lit the pipe.

"Now, Eldarion, it is your turn."

The boy was gazing at his father in admiration. The complete transformation from the almost elven-like King of Gondor and Arnor to the rugged human had occurred in mere seconds. "_Ada_, may I try pipe-weed?" He asked.

Aragorn shook his head. "Your mother will hang me, drown me, and behead me if I let you do that. Besides, you are too young and it is not healthy."

The boy snorted unhappily, but his eyes brightened when he realized that it was now his turn to cover himself in dirt and grime. He grabbed a handful of mud, but to Aragorn's shock, instead of using it to cover his boots as the man had done, he spread a generous layer over his face. Eldarion laughed and started jumping into the puddle. "Oh, _ada_, being a ranger is so fun!" When the child was positively wet, he lay down and started rolling into the mud, laughing happily.

The King's eyes widened in horror. "My son, you were supposed to disguise yourself as a traveler, not as a pig!"

"At least I certainly don't look like a prince now!" Eldarion replied triumphantly and finally rose from the mud. "Even _nana_ wouldn't recognize me now!"

Aragorn eyed him critically. "You look perfect. Ready to go?"

The boy nodded and after the King had run swiftly to the royal chambers to leave a brief note, they both went to the stables. They mounted two horses, not their usual ones since they wanted to travel incognito, and rode out, never noticing Arod and a magnificent black mare hidden in the shadows.

Something else they failed to notice was the cloaked man following their every move.

-:-

"My Lord!"

"What is it, Pyasak?" The man turned around and his dark eyes glimmered with impatience.

"The King! The King and his son! They both left the City! They are riding south now."

The Haradrim frowned. "Where is he going? Is the birthday celebration cancelled then?"

"I do not know, my Lord."

The man nodded. "In this case we need to change the plan. Take all twenty men. We leave now."

"Where are we going?" Pyasak asked.

"We ride after them. And we will kill them."

-:-

"I will kill them!"

Legolas watched her with something akin to amusement. "Come now, Arwen, no harm is done. Certainly there is no need to kill them."

"You are right. I will not kill them. I will kill _him_."

The golden-haired elf sighed. As it was, it seemed that his friend would be in trouble when he returned home. "Are you sure? Perhaps it was Eldarion's idea."

"I do not care who suggested this madness," she said firmly. "Eldarion is but a child and cannot fully understand the risk he is taking. But Estel… ah! How could he ride out without his escort? How could he take my child out without protection?"

"He had survived long years without any escort," Legolas tried to reason, but Arwen would have none of it.

"But he is a king now! And kings have enemies. And even if he is willing to put his life in danger, how could he endanger my son? Eldarion is helpless out there!"

Legolas grasped her shoulders and forced their eyes to meet. "Arwen look at me. No one is helpless. Aragorn knows how to take care of himself and of your son. He loves Eldarion as much as he loves you. He will die before he lets anything happen to the boy."

Arwen closed her eyes and sat on the bed. "That is what I fear," she whispered softly.

Legolas gazed at her, slightly disturbed. He wondered briefly if it was foresight that made Arwen speak so, but then decided that it was only the worry of a mother and a wife. He knelt in front of her and touched her forearm.

"Arwen, nothing will happen. I am sure Aragorn knows what he is doing. They will arrive in Ithilien, my friends there will come up with some story to explain my absence, and they will ride back. The elves might even give them an escort on the way back here. They will return in no time and we will surprise him as we have planned. Agreed?"

Arwen forced a smile and nodded. "I will send his escort after him," she said.

He quickly shook his head. "That will not help. He is far away now and your men won't reach him. Besides, he is far safer as it is. Sending the escort will tell everyone that the King is outside the City by himself. If we do not speak a word everyone will think he is still in Minas Tirith and he will be back before anyone has noticed."

Arwen sighed. "You are right. I will follow your advice. Apparently you can think much more clearly then me right now."

But she didn't know that hours ago, someone had already discovered that the king has left.

-:-

**TBC**

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_Thanks for reading and feedback is very welcome!_

_Note to everyone reading "The Only way to Kill the Dragon": My apologies for the delay. I have not abandoned the story and it will be updated._

9


	2. A Better Surprise

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Including my beloved anonymous reviewers who keep refusing to give me an email, so that I can respond properly :-) :_

_**The Randomer**__ – Thanks! You are right, of course, I somewhat messed up Eldarion's age. Now that I think about it he appears more mature in "Friendship is a Family Trait", and he is almost three years younger there. I guess I might go back and correct it, but right now I think it would be much more productive of me to work on the Dragon. When I finish it I'll probably stop writing for a while and spend some time correcting all that is wrong with my older stories. But until then let's just pretend that since he is Númenórean and will probably live more than 200 years, his development is slower and he'll reach his 'moody pre-teens' a bit later ;-)_

_**Nebraskafan**__ – Thank you so much! Don't worry, Estel won't spoil the surprise completely. It might even turn out better that way._

_**Everyone else**__ – you should have received individual replies. If you haven't, feel free to yell at me._

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_**Chapter 2: A Better Surprise**_

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"There are riders behind us."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure, _ada_."

Aragorn smiled proudly. As good as his own hearing was, his son's was far better. "Your mother," he murmured with an exasperated smile. "She has sent the escort after us."

"Do we try to outride them?"

Now Aragorn could hear them too. They were approaching fast. Very fast. He frowned in confusion and looked back. The men of his escort did not have such fast horses. Eldarion and he had taken two of the finest steeds in Gondor, and the royal stables had some of the fastest horses on Arda. Perhaps the only ones that could beat them were the horses of the Haradrim, but the men of the desert always refused to sell their horses to anyone from a different land, and he had been unable to get any of those wonderful steeds. But his escort's horses certainly were not faster than his. And yet, they were gaining on them.

Aragorn sighed resignedly. "It seems they will meet us. But they don't need to know us, do they?"

Eldarion gave him a dubious look. "But, _ada_, this is your escort! Of course they know us."

His father smiled. "Do I look like a king now?"

Eldarion laughed happily. "Not really, but they know that we have left, and when they see us it won't be too hard to guess who we are."

"They will expect to see two of us," Aragorn said and pointed towards a tree. "Hide up there. I will meet them and pretend I am a horse merchant. That would explain the second horse. We cannot both hide as someone needs to take care of the horses."

"Why don't I stay and you hide?" The boy asked unhappily.

"Because, my son, it is unlikely that a twelve-year-old child will travel all alone with two horses."

"Child!" Eldarion snorted but obeyed and swiftly climbed the tree, murmuring something about being no child.

Aragorn looked at him with a smile, dismounted his horse, and sat under the tree the child was hidden in. If the men looked at him, chances were they were going to look forward and not upward. The king lit his pipe and patiently waited for his escort to arrive.

Soon the men appeared, but to his surprise this was not his escort. There were about twenty of them, all dark-haired and tall, riding beautiful horses the likes of which he had rarely seen.

"Greetings, my friends!" He stood up and held his left hand in a gesture of peace as the men quickly surrounded him. His right hand, of course, was still clutching his beloved pipe. The fact that he was surrounded was rather unusual, but he tried to suppress his worry.

"Well met," one of the men replied. "We are looking for two riders traveling together. A tall man and a child, slightly older than ten years. Have you seen them?"

Aragorn frowned. It was obvious who the riders were looking for. But he knew none of them. Then why would they be looking for them? Was it possible that Arwen had sent men other than his escort, so that he would not know them and would not try to elude them? Unlikely. And the horses were definitely not from his stables. In fact, he had a very good guess where the marvelous steeds had come from. And it could mean nothing good.

"I am sorry I cannot help you," he said regretfully. "I left Minas Tirith early this morning and have met no one on my way."

"Perhaps you met no one on your way," Pyasak hissed, "but I doubt that you left the City by yourself. I think that you are lying. Where is your son, Elessar?"

Eldarion suppressed a gasp. He was watching the entire scene from a branch of a tree, and his worry was growing by the minute. But still his heart swelled with pride and admiration when he saw his father's confused expression. And when the King spoke his tone was so convincing that even Eldarion almost believed him.

"You must be mistaking me for someone, my friend," Aragorn replied calmly. "My name is Sethran. I live in South Ithilien, and I am a horse merchant. I had come to Minas Tirith to buy this strong stallion." He gestured towards Eldarion's steed. "And I certainly have no son, although I would love to have one. I only have two beautiful daughters, but my wife is with a child now, and he might be a son this time. If this is the son you are talking about-"

"You know very well of which son I talk about," Pyasak said and his voice was low and dangerous. "As well as I know that you have no daughters and that the Queen is not expecting a child any time soon."

Aragorn looked at him in amusement and laughed. "You do me a great honor to mistake me for King Elessar," he said cheerfully and casually brushed some dust off his cloak. The purpose of this gesture, naturally, was not to get rid of the dirt, but to emphasize its presence. "I have to admit that I have traveled a lot and have often been mistaken for various people. An innkeeper, a warrior, a thief… and on one especially dark night I was even mistaken for an orc. But I have never been mistaken for a king before."

Even though Aragorn was controlling his voice and expression quite successfully, he was feeling a dark fear crawl into his heart. How did those men know who he was? He was so well disguised that he was sure that even his own escort would have been unable to recognize him. What he did not know was that Pyasak's men had followed his every move and had seen him and Eldarion leave the City dressed up as they were.

"We have no time for games," Pyasak said coldly, raised his bow and notched an arrow. "Tell me where the Prince is or I will kill you here and now."

Eldarion froze. He reached out for his own small bow, but realized that he had left all of his weapons hidden in the grass at the base of the tree. He whispered a phrase which he had learned from Gimli, and which he would never dare utter in front of his mother. How could he leave his bow behind! He had never thought that the coming men would be an actual treat to his father.

Aragorn laughed dryly. It seemed that they had indeed run out of time for games. "Eldarion is not here," he replied. "And I cannot see how idiotic you must be to expect that I would tell you where he is."

Pyasak frowned angrily and released his arrow. In a move too swift to follow Aragorn dropped his pipe, drew his sword out of its scabbard and placed it in front of his face, blocking the arrow. If these men wanted a fight, he would give them one. Unfortunately, in the past few years he had grown accustomed to fighting with Andùril, and now he had taken another sword which wouldn't give away his identity. It was much shorter and lighter, and he feared that he would need a minute or two to find his balance. As he swirled around to block a blade aiming at his back, however, he felt his instincts and decades of practice kick in, and the sword turned into a natural extension of his right arm.

Pyasak breather a sigh of relief when his target avoided his arrow. He had shot in a moment of anger, but he knew that unfortunately they needed the king alive. They had to question him and find out where the prince was. If the boy survived, everything they have done would be in vain.

"Don't kill him!" He shouted at his men. "Hurt him, but don't kill him! We need to know where the kid is!"

Eldarion watched helplessly as two dark arrows embedded themselves into his father's back. His heart was screaming at him to jump down and join the battle, but his mind knew better. He knew that his father and he had no chances against the twenty men. He had also realized already that as long as he stayed hidden, they would keep his father alive, and as soon as he appeared, they would aim to kill them both and would soon succeed. But this knowledge did not make watching the scene any easier and his heart ached.

Aragorn had drawn out his hunting knife in his left hand, and was now fighting with both blades. The arrow wounds made his movements painful and slower than usual, but still he was holding his ground as well as it could be expected. His sword clashed with another and his eyes locked with the other man's. Then his left hand moved beneath the two swords and thrust the long knife into the Haradrim's belly. The king wasted no time and pulled his knife out, throwing it at another man's chest.

Two men down already! Eldarion cheered silently. But he knew painfully well that this could not continue. His father had only his sword now, and had to turn around all the time, blocking attacks from several different directions.

Aragorn's sword slashed through the air and made a deep cut on a man's chest. The Haradrim cried out in rage and thrust his long dagger towards the king. Aragorn sidestepped it, but his foot was caught into a rabbit hole. He lost his balance for a second, but that was enough for the wounded man to push him down. Aragorn fell backwards, and as he hit the ground he pushed the shafts of the two arrows that had stuck him earlier, aggravating his wounds. He closed his eyes in pain, and Eldarion suppressed a scream.

When he opened his eyes, Pyasak's booted foot was on his chest, pressing him down. He tried to roll over, but several men were already standing on their knees, holding his hands and feet. One of them took out a rough rope and started binding him.

Aragorn fought weakly against the attempt to restrain him, but soon saw that it was to no avail and gave up, saving his strength for later. Pyasak grinned as he stopped moving.

"Giving up already, are you?" The man said. "Perhaps you are ready to tell us where the kid is."

"You said you had no time for games," Aragorn said. "And I tell you this now – it will be a waste of your time to make me say where my son is."

Pyasak frowned and gave him a vicious kick in the chest. The two arrows still stuck in Aragorn's back sank deeper and he fought hard to remain quiet. He couldn't stop, however, the cold beads of sweat that appeared on his forehead and his accelerated breath. The Haradrim gazed at his pain-filled eyes with some satisfaction. "I think not. I can make you talk."

Aragorn stared back. "Do you have any children?" He asked softly.

Pyasak froze. He did. And he would die for them, even if it meant a slow and painful death. Curse it! The king would never tell them where the boy was!

Then he would have to use a different strategy. He gave the bound man a second kick, ignoring the hiss of pain that followed. He raised his head and looked around. "Prince Eldarion!" He called. "Prince Eldarion, if you are somewhere close and can hear me, answer me! I have your father! And unless you appear, he will suffer!" These words were followed by another kick.

Aragorn curled up on himself and closed his eyes, trying to escape the pain. But it was not this pain that bothered him the most. He knew well that his son could perfectly well see and hear them, and if the boy listened to their captors all was over.

"Prince Eldarion!" Pyasak called again. "I will hurt him again if you don't come! If you come, I will leave him alone. Come, my boy, even a prince can't be so cold-hearted to watch his father suffer because of him."

Eldarion watched in horror. He knew that it was a trap, that if he showed himself they would both die, but he could stand this no more. As Pyasak kicked one more time, the child felt his heart break. He was about to jump from the tree and cry 'I am here', when Aragorn suddenly spoke.

"My son is not so stupid to listen to you!" He hissed. "You are wasting your time – he is far away and cannot hear you. But even if he was here, he would have never listened to your lies! And he would have known very well how proud I would be of him if he managed to stay away and escape you!"

Eldarion watched wide-eyed. He knew very well that his father was not talking to his captor. He was talking to him. He was warning him to stay away.

And the child did. But as Pyasak continued beating his prisoner, he could not stop the hot tears that rolled down his cheeks.

-:-

The sun was setting. Pyasak was gazing thoughtfully at the bound king, who had been unconscious for the past few hours. He had sent all of his men looking for the prince, but a minute ago the last group had returned, reporting that they had not found the child.

But maybe their situation was not so bad after all. They had the king alive, and that gave them some serious power. Perhaps it was even better that way. Maybe they could ask for a piece of Gondor's land in exchange for the king's life. Or they could force Elessar himself to sign a treaty giving them all the lands they demanded. Pyasak suddenly sighed. Their captive did not seem to be easily forced to do anything. Lost in his musings, he was completely unaware of the pair of silver eyes watching him carefully.

Eldarion was watching them from the top of the tree where he was still hiding. The foolish men had never thought about looking up in the trees! And now the boy was waiting as patiently as possible under the circumstances, hoping that the cover of the night would give him a chance to rescue his father.

Unfortunately, Pyasak did not seem to be planning to go to sleep anytime soon. And Eldarion stood and waited on that branch until the shining disk of the sun rolled completely down the horizon and the full moon rose instead. No fires were lit and the men's camp was barely illuminated by the pale moonlight, but for the child's keen vision this was enough.

At last most men had gone to sleep and only two guards remained. Eldarion knew that it would be wise to wait for a while to give the men time to fall asleep, but he could wait no more. The prince silently climbed down the tree, grabbed his bow and quiver from the tall grass, and quietly walked towards the camp. He notched an arrow and pointed it towards one of the guards.

An arrow flew through the air and pierced the heart of one of the guards before the man had made a sound. The second guard, however, cried out before another arrow found his own heart.

Eldarion watched in wonder. He had let no arrow fly. And then he saw them. The royal escort was surrounding the Haradrim, and their swords were drawn. Swords? Who had fired the arrows then?

Legolas?!

The prince's eyes widened in disbelief when he spotted the golden-haired elf. Legolas was supposed to be busy in Ithilien. What was he doing here, with his father's men nonetheless? And what was the escort doing here? What was anyone doing here?

It mattered not. Eldarion was quite happy to see them and grinned widely. Even though he had seen them all, no one had yet noticed his presence, and he remained hidden behind a tree.

The prince watched as the Haradrim stood up awake and drew out their swords to meet the Gondorians. He heard blades clash and saw men fall. But his father's men were more and there was no doubt who was going to win.

"Stop!" One of the Haradrim suddenly shouted. Eldarion looked in the direction the call had come from, and felt all of his joy and relief disappear.

The man had lifted the unconscious king and was pressing a dagger against his throat. "Give up your weapons or I will kill him!"

Legolas' blue eyes flashed in anger and worry, and he notched an arrow, pointing it towards the man. As he raised his bow, however, the Haradrim shifted the unconscious body in his arms, so that he was completely hidden behind it. The elf cursed silently. There was no way to shoot the man without hurting Aragorn.

"What do you want?" He hissed. "If it is wealth that you want, you will be given what you desire. Release him!"

"You are in no position to make demands!" The man shot back. "I said give up your weapons!"

Legolas stared at him defiantly, his arrow still pointing forward. His hand trembled slightly, however, as the Haradrim pressed his knife against Aragorn's throat, drawing a tiny streak of blood. "Give up your bow or I will kill him!" He cried again and pressed the knife slightly harder.

The elf froze. His heart raced in panic as he watched his friend helpless and oblivious, left at the man's mercy. "Even if I give up my weapons, will you let him live?" He asked coldly, trying to keep his voice from breaking with fear.

"Maybe yes," the Haradrim said. "Or maybe not. You have no way of knowing. What you can know for certain is that if you do not give up your weapons, I will kill him for sure."

"Lord Legolas!" The elf turned right to look at the Gondorian who had called him, and to his horror noticed that all men of the royal escort had dropped their swords and were looking at him expectantly. "We must obey," the man continued, and Legolas frowned in anger. How could they give up so easily!

But as the Haradrim pressed his knife a bit further, causing a crimson rivulet to flow down his captive's throat, the elf had little choice but to drop down his bow. The man grinned victoriously. "Collect their weapons!" He called to his companions.

Legolas raised his palms in a gesture of peace. "I will surrender to you as your prisoner," he said, trying to suppress his rage, "but, please, let me take care of his wounds."

The man snorted. "You are my prisoner, elf, whether you surrender or not. Although I have no used of you. But no, I will not let you take care of his wounds."

Legolas' fists clenched in anger. Did this man even plan on keeping Aragorn alive? And his friend would never be here in the first place if not for his foolish surprise plan! How could have everything gone so wrong? "What do you intend to do with him?" He asked, glaring at the man. A Haradrim had reached him, and was now bending to pick up his bow from the ground. If they took his weapons all was lost. There was no one to save them.

The man holding Aragorn opened his mouth to reply, but his words turned into a scream of pain and surprise. He suddenly fell down, dragging the limp body with him. Legolas roughly pushed away the man before him and threw himself forward to catch Aragorn before he had hit the ground. When he looked up, he was surprised to see an arrow stuck in the former captor's back, piercing the man's heart.

Legolas looked in the direction the arrow had come from and his eyes widened in shock. Their unlikely savior was a strange, short creature, entirely covered with a thick layer of dry mud. He had no beard, so being a dwarf was not an option, but his feet were too small to be a hobbit. But what was it then?

"Eldarion!" The elf cried in surprise when familiar silver eyes locked with his. The child had certainly gone too far in his disguise.

"_Ada_!" The child screamed and ran to his father, who was now held securely in the elf's arms. He paid no heed to the men of the royal escort who had retaken their weapons, and had easily dealt with the rest of the Haradrim. Nine of them had remained alive and had chosen to surrender. The Gondorians started binding them, preparing to take them to Minas Tirith as prisoners.

"We must take care of his wounds!" Eldarion said urgently.

"There is no 'we'," Legolas replied sternly. "You are way too filthy to get anywhere near his injuries! You look as if you had been rolling in a muddy puddle!"

Eldarion had nothing to say to that as he had indeed been rolling in a puddle, so he watched silently while Legolas was cleaning and binding his father's wounds. "That was a beautiful shot," the elf said suddenly. "Your arrow hit his heart, and you managed to shoot in spite of the dim light. Where did you learned to shoot like that?"

"_Ada_ taught me!" Eldarion replied proudly. "He wanted to show you how well he had taught me to shoot."

Legolas smiled fondly. "And he did. He proved to be an excellent teacher."

"He said you told him that he would never be able to teach me without your help," the boy said.

"Oh, I was teasing," the elf replied. "I had never doubted him."

Eldarion smiled. "You have to tell him that when he wakes up."

Legolas shook his head. "He knows it already. He has always known it."

The boy looked at him. There was a question that still bothered him. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You mother was quite worried when she found out that you have left," the elf said softly. "But I tried to persuade her that there was no danger. But when your horses returned riderless, we knew that something had gone wrong. I should have listened to her from the very beginning," he said regretfully and gazed at his friend. "We could have prevented this." He was silent for a second and sighed. "But it might turn out to be for the better."

"For the better?" Eldarion asked in confusion.

"Arwen is very, very angry with him," Legolas explained. "When she sees him like that it might soften her heart. Or at least I hope so."

The boy nodded. He had completely forgotten about their horses, but was glad that they had found their way home on time to bring help. "There is something else I do not understand," he said. "What were you doing in Minas Tirith?"

The elf smiled slightly. "That is quite a long story. You will learn it in time."

"Lord Legolas?" One of the men approached hesitantly and looked at the elf. "We questioned the men." Legolas nodded and he continued his report. "It seems they had been planning to assassinate the King and the Prince during the birthday celebration."

The elf and the prince gasped at the same time and exchanged a glance. Legolas looked wide-eyed at the unconscious human. "So his foolish plan to sneak out, although it went completely wrong, has saved his life! And Eldarion's too!" He murmured, astonished.

The boy looked at him thoughtfully. "It is sometimes the plans that go wrong that work out the best."

-:-

Not more than half an hour passed before the King finally stirred, but to the elf and the boy by his side it seemed like ages. "_Ada_!" Eldarion cried and threw his arms around his father's neck the instant the man opened his eyes.

Aragorn tried to rise, but his son pushed him gently down. "Rest, _ada_, we are safe."

The man frowned. "Safe? What happened, Eldarion? Where are the men who attacked me? Are you hurt? What-" The flow of questions suddenly stopped as he spotted a familiar face. "Legolas! What are you doing here?"

The elf smiled guiltily. "An early happy birthday, _mellon nîn_," he said. "I was staying secretly in Minas Tirith. Arwen and I wanted to surprise you, but it didn't work out the way we planned. I am sorry."

The man laughed. "No need to apologize, Legolas, I _am_ surprised. I am surprised indeed. What better way to surprise me than to save my and my son's lives?"

The elf blinked at the realization and his eyes widened in astonishment. True, the surprise had worked. And his appearance was much better than anything he or Arwen had ever planned. Moreover, it was his surprise plan that had made the king ride to Ithilien. If Aragorn had remained in Minas Tirith, the Haradrim's assassination attempt might have worked.

Indeed, it seemed that Eldarion had been right. It was plans that went wrong which worked out the best.

He suddenly grinned. So many plans had turned wrong on that day – his and Arwen's plan to keep his presence a secret, Aragorn's plan to ride to Ithilien, and the Haradrim's assassination plan. _But not all plans will go wrong._ His friend still knew nothing of the black mare. Perhaps this little plan would work out after all.

_He knows nothing of her, and he will like his present. Surprises are still to come._

_Happy birthday, mellon nîn._

_**The End**_

* * *

_Note 1__: I wrote this for a contest and I this is how it ended there, but now I am thinking about writing a little epilogue where poor Aragorn has a good talk with Arwen about sneaking out and putting their son in danger. And where he finally receives the present, of course. Tell me if anyone is interested, but let me just warn you that even if I write it, it won't be any time soon since I'm currently working on two short stories and one multi-chapter WIP._

_Note 2__: Everyone reading "The Only Way to Kill the Dragon" – I really regret saying this, but do not expect an update in the next one month. The next month is going to be a crazy combination of final exams and traveling, and I doubt that I'll have much time to write. But the story will be finished by the end of the year for sure, hopefully much sooner._

_Thanks for reading and feedback is very welcome!_


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